Glass-feeding apparatus



June 25, 1929. soUBlER 1,718,608

GLAss FEEDING APPARATUS Filed April l2, 1926 3 Sheetsheet 2 l l ,kv/ff ll I INYENT um. Leonard oubier BWM AT T'Y @una 25, l929- l.. D. SOUBIERGLASS FEEDING APPARATUS Filed April l2, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 105 104 M7zf/Za/'g/ i Hilf 35 '1^ p 1 1 116 f2.:

INYE'N T UQ. leonard Youbiefg FNM ATTY.

Patented June 25, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEONARD D. iSOUBIER, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE OWENS BOTTLECOMPANY, F'TOLEDO, OHIO, .A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

GLASSFEEDING APPARATUS.

Application filed April 12, 1926. Serial No. 101,271.

My invention relates to molten glass feeding mechanism and is hereindisclosed as applied to a feeder `of the class in Which a plunger'reciprocating vertically Within the glass in a container, automaticallycontrols the discharge ot glass through an outlet oritice beneath theplunger. More particularly the invention relates to apparatus forperiodically regulating the size and Weight of charges of molten glassissuing through the outlet.

An object ot my invention is to provide an improved feeder of the typeindicated, in which a rotating sleeve, concentric With the plunger andthe orifice, regulates or modi tics the flow or' glass to and throughthe out` let orifice, and in which a periodic control or variation ofmovement of the rotating sleeve is effected, whereby the size. of thecharges ot glass issuing from the t'eeder out let may be periodicallyvaried.

Another object is to provide a means of adjustingr the` movements ot thesleeve so that the size and Weight ofthe charges of molten glass may beregulated to conform to the blank molds` on the forming machine.

@ther objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

ln the accompanying drawings:

ll `igurc 1 is a sectional side elevation of feeder mechanism embodyingthe principles ot my invention, and shows the rotating sleeve inposition over the outlet orifice, and the mans ot operating it. Aforming machine with blank mold in position to receive .a charge otglass is also shown.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of' the air cylinder and piston whichoperates the sleeve vertically.

Figure 3 is a detail of a. valve and its actuating cam, which valvecontrols the operation oi the air motor.

Figure 1 is a iront elevation of the apparatus.

Figure 5 illustrates a modified construe-Ll tion of feeder mechanismwhereby periodic variation in size of charges of molten glass isobtained by periodically varying the speed of rotation of'the sleeve.

vlarger charges than another.

The present application discloses certain subject matter of theinvention also disclosed in my patent No. 1,626,705, granted May 3,1927, entitled Glass feeder, and is a continuation thercotl as to allsubject matter disclosed in both said patent and the presentapplication.

Molten glass (Fig. 1) is continuously supplied to a container 11 whichmay be the usual clay boot or extension ot a refining tank or furnace12. The container 11 is supported by a metal frame 13 having a circularopening 14 near its forward end. In the clay boot or container 11 is anoutlet orifice 15 having an upwardly receding wall which terminates inthe lip 15 slightly higher than the floor of the boot. Cutters 16 areperiodically operated automatically to sever the gob ofglass 17 from theissuing stream just as a blank mold 18 ap roaches to receive its chargeof glass.l As `ierein shown, the blank mold 18 is mounted on one of theheads or units A of a Well known type of forming machine, in which amold table or carrier Get is mounted forcontinuous rotation about aYcentral column B.

After the charge ot' glass has been givenI an initial shaping in theblank/mold7 the latter is automatically opened to allow trans- Jfer ofthe bare parison from the blank mold 18 to the blowing mold 18. As eachhead or unit with its blank mold passesrbeneath the outlet opening 15. acharge of molten glass is dropped thereinto.

ln sonic cases it is desired to periodically vary the size of thecharges ot glass in a predetermined order ot' sequence., as tor example`when it is desired to make different sized articles at the saine time onthe torming machine. or when the feeder is arranged to supply charges inalternation to a plurality of forming machines arranged side by side,one machine having molds requiring 'l`he construction herein disclosedprovides vtor supplying such varisized charges, as will appear morefully hereinafter.

Directly over the orifice 15 is mounted the actuating plunger 19 whichimpels the glass th-rough the orifice. The clay sleeve 2Q is mounted inan annular carriage 21 having gear teeth 22 which engage with a drivinggear 23. An annular bearing plate 24 supports the rotating carriage 21,and has b earings 25 for ease of rotation of the carriage 21. The plate2 4 has oppositely extended arms '26 (Fig. 4) by which the plate 1svmounted and vertically adjustable on rods 27 and secured in adjustedposition by set screws 28.

On one of the extensions 26 is mounted a journal 29, for carrying ashaft 30. The gear 23 is keyed to one end of this shaft, and to theother end is keyed a sprocket wheel 31. On the furnace structure 32-ismounted t bearing block 33 which carries a shaft 34. Ihis shaft haskeyed to it a sprocket wheel 35 which drives a chain 36 running over thewheel 31. Another sprocket wheel 37 is keyed to the shaft 34 and isdriven 4by a chain 38. An adjustable speed motor 39, controlled by arheostat 40,has mounted on its shaft a worm 41, which drives a.` wormgear 42. vDirectly connected to the worm gear 42 is a sprocket 43 whichdrives the chain 38. By adjusting the rheostat 40, the

speed of the motor can be varied to vary' 77 the speed of the rotatingsleeve 20 in the feeder.

The vertical rods 27 are slidably mounted in guides 45 which area partof the metal supporting frame 13. A cross beam 46 is locked to the rods27 by means of set screws 47, and is connect-ed by a link 48 to a rockarm 49 which is rigidly attached to a rock shaft 50. The rock shaft 50is mounted in brackets 51 which are carried by a shelf 52 of the furnacestructure.

Near the end of rock shaft 50 is secured a crank arm 53 which isactuated by a piston 54 in an air cylinder 55, through the piston rod 56and the reach rod 57. The reach rod 57 is threaded to receive the nuts58 which adjust the posit-ion of a slide block 59 on the rod 57. Theblock 59 is connected to the crank 'arm 53 .by means of a stud 60 (Fig.1).

On the base of the forming machine (Fig. 1) is a valve box 61 havingcommunication with an air chamber'62 of the forming machine. On eachunit of the rotating table 64 is mounted a cam track 63 which engages avroller 65 (Fig. 3) and opens a valve 66 against the tension of a spring67, which normally holds the valve in a closed position. When the valveis open, air under pressure is conducted through a pipe 68 to thecylinder"55 A of the air motor and moves the piston 54 until it isstopped by a false head 69. The head 69 is adjustable lengthwise of thecylinder by turning a hollow screw 70 (Fig. 2). The length of stroke ofthe piston is thereby adjustable to adjust the height to which therotating sleeve 20 willv be lifted. i

71, releasing the air pressure against the piston. The cam 63 isarranged lo release the valve 66 about the time the piston conipletesits stroke and vthereby cut oil' the air supply to the motor. An escapevalve 73 is loc-ated in the .false end 69 and is regulated to restrictthe outflow of air by means ot' a screw rod 74 inside the hollow screw70. As the pressure in chamber 85 is released, the clay sleeve 2() fallsby gravity and the piston 54 returns to its normal position. As thepiston reaches its limit of movement in a crank-end direction, aprotruding portion 86 of the valve 71 strikes the cylinder head 87 andthe vlave 71 is closed.

The discharge of glass is periodically controlled, as before mentioned,by the plunger 19. Any suitable mechanism may be einployed to operatethe plunger. shown, the movements of the plunger are effected by meansof a cam 75 on a continuously rotating shaft 76, driven by sprocket and|chain 77 the latter preferably geared to the mold carriage, in the usualmanner, so that the reciprocations of the plunger are synchronized withthe movements of the molds to charge receiving position. The camoperates througha lever 78 which is fulcrumed near its center on a rock.shaft 79. At the forward end of the lever yoke 81 byn the flanged stud82 and nut 83..

Thus, the movements of the` plunger are entirely independent of therotating sleeve. )Vhile the uprights 27 serve as guides for the yoke 81,they also serve as lifting members for the sleeve unit, through the yoke26, and are themselves held from horizontal movement by the guides 45 onthe feeder frame.

Briefly, the operations are as follows:

The sleeve 20 is adjusted by means of the hand wheels 58, to permit amore or less restricted flow of molten glass to the outlet orifice 15.In this ad'usted position, a relatively small charge o glass ispermitted t0 issue from the orifice. When more than one size of ware isto be made on the forming machine, a cam 63 is mounted in associationwith each unit or head of the machine which carries a mold of largecapacity. The cams operate as heretofore explained, to cause the pistonmotor to lift the sleeve 20 and thereby give an unrestricted flow ofmolten glass to the outlet orifice during the formation of the chargefor each of said molds of large capacity. The cam 63 may be made ofsufiicient length to sustain the air pres- As herein sure in thecylinder 55 until the piston 54: completes the greaterpart of itsstroke, and as the cam diseugages the roller 05, the valve is closedautomatically, the expansion of the air under pressure in the cylinderbeing relied upon to complete the stroke of the piston. This operationraises the sleeve 20 and permits a rapid flow of glass to the outletorifice. llt desired. the individual cams (53 may be made of dill'ereutlengths -so that they will cause the sleeve 20 to be. held upcorresponding lengths time, whereby the size of each charge of glasswill be determined by the length of the corresponding cam.

A modified form of my invention may be constructed as follows:

rl`he usual furnace or refining tank 12 (Fig. supplies molten glass 10to the boot or extension 11 having an outlet orifice 15 with upwardlyreceding walls which terminate in the lip 15. Cutters 10 areperiodically operated automatically to sever the gobs or charges ofglass 17, 17 n, 'from the issuing glass justas the blank molds 18. 18,approach to receive their respective charges of glass.

ln this form, it is desired to periodically Vary the speed of rotationof the sleeve 20 to periodically vary the size of the charge of glass.For this purpose, l mount a cam 90 at such point or points on themachine as will periodically operate to etect a change in the speed ofthe motor 39 to vary the speed of rotation of the sleeve 20. Asillustrated inFie. 5, a movable switch member 91 pivoteol near itscenter., normally maintains a closed circuit through the conductors 92,93, therheostat 94, motor 39, and any suitable source of power 95.l Whenoptating at this normal condition, the sleeve 2 is rotating at acomparatively high speed ard thel molten glass in the container 11 willten to cling to the lower part of the rapidly\ rotating sleeve thuslrestricting by centrifugal force the tlow of glass. to the outletorifice 15, and permitting a comparatively small charge of glass' 17 toissue from Said outlet.

1When it is desired to cause a larger charge of glass to issue from thefeeder, in order that larger ware may be manufactured, the cam 90 is soplacedon the machine and in relation to the heador unit employed to makethe larger sized ware, that it will swing the switch member 91 aga'nstthe tension of a spring 96. to the dotted line position 91L at a desiredtime. This establishes a circuit through a conductor 97 and rheostat 98to operate the motor 39 at a slower speed. The speed of rotation of thesleeve 20 is thus' re-, duced and glass will flow more freely to theoutlet and a larger gob o'r charge Will issue from the outlet orifice.

The rheostats 94, 98 are 'adjustable manually to suit any desiredcondition, and the motor 39 will accelerate or deceleratc depending uponthe position of the cam 90 on the rotating table 04.

The clay sleeve 20 is mounted in an annular` carriage 21 having gearteeth which engage with a driving gear 23. An annular bearing plate 24:supports the carriage 21 and has bearings for ease of rotation of thecarriage 2l. l The bearing plate 2l has oppositely disposed arms 99which'cxtend upwardly and rearwardly to the Vertical slide member 100.This latter member is slidable vertically in a. guidcway 10S-l mountedupon the furnace structure and is movably supported b v a screw 101having threaded engagement with a block 102 mounted near the center ofthe plate 100.

The sleeve 20 is adjustable vertically by means of the hand Wheel 106connected by a rod through the flexible point 107 to the miter gears 105and screw 101, which are carried in fixed relation in the bracket 104.

The motor 39 has mounted on its shaft a wor-111108 which meshes with aworm gear 109. and drives a sprocket 110. A. chain 111 is driven by thesprocket 110, and a pair of pulleys 112 having a counterweight 113 areprovided to maintain sutlicient tension in the chain inorder tocompensate for vertical adjustment of the sleeve. The chain 111 drivespulleys 114, 115 mounted on a common shaft 110 and carried in bearingblocks 117 on thoarms 99 of the carrying frame. The sleeve 20 is drivenas before mentioned, by the gears 22, 23, having ,driving connectionthrough shaft 3() with sprocket 31 and chain 30.

Modiiications may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of myinvention.

What ll claim is:

1. The combination with a container for molten glass having a dischargeoutlet permitting gravity issue of glass, of means operating atpredetermined time intervals for ausing a periodic variation inthe rateof lscharge, and separate means operating ai tomat-ically to etfect afurther periodic variation in the rate of discharge. said separate meansoperating in synchronism with but at ditferent time intervals from thoseof said frst mentioned means.

2. In glass feeding mechanism, the. combination with 'a container formolten glass having` a discharge outlet, of meansi operatingperiodically on the glass within the container to cont-rolt-he rate ofdischarge, a second means'operat-ing automatically periodically Withinthe glass in the container to effect a periodic variation in the rate ofglass discharge, the intervals between successive operations of saidsecond means being a multiple of the time intervals between suc cessiveoperations of the first mentioned' means.

3. Apparatus for delivering charges of llt) molten glass comprising acontainer for the glass having adischarge outlet, means operatingperiodically on the glass within the container to effect periodicvariations in the rate of the glass operable to restrict the flow, andmechanism for operating said retarding device in synchronism with theoperations of said means but at different time intervals, such that thevolume of glass periodically lischarged under the control of said meansis periodically varied.

et. The combination of a container for molten glass having a bottomoutlet, a plunger projecting into the glass over the outlet, means forperiodically reciprocating the plunger toward and from the outlet, aretarding device by which the rate of flow to the outlet is restricted,and. means operating autou'iatically to periodically vary the retardingaction of said device and thereby vary the volume of glass dischargedunder the influence of said plunger.

5'. The 'combination of a container for lnolten glass having a bottomoutlet, a flow regulatingr plunger projectingT into the glass over theoutlet, means for periodically reciproca-ting the plunger toward andfrom the outlet, and additional How control means operating at timeintervals, each of Which is a multiple of the time interval betweenconsecutive reciprocations of the plunger, to eil'ect a periodicretardation of the `flow of glass to the. outlet, whereby the Volumes ofthe charges delivered are periodically varied in a predetermined orderof sequence.

G. The combination' of a container for molten glass having a dischargeoutlet, a tubular member projecting into the glass over the outlet intoposition to restrict the flow, means to effect an actuation of saidmember at predetermined time intervals by which the extent of saidrestriction is moditied, and means cooperating with said member andoperating at different time intervals flipt-mentioned time intervals toapply a controlling force to the issuing glass, whereby the charges ofglass ,delivered are periodically varied in a. predetermined order.

7. The combination ot a container for molten glass having a dischargeoutlet, a tubular member projecting into the glass over the outlet intoposition to restrict theflow, means to effect an actuation of saidmember at predetermined time intervals by which the extent of saidrestriction is modiiicd, a plunger within said'member, and means toperiodically reciprocate the plunger in synchronism with the actuationsof said member and at different time intervals therefrom, whereby thesize of the charges of glass` delivered is periodically varied,

8. The combination of a container for molten glass having a bottomoutlet, two condischarge, a retarding device Within,

centric implements projecting into the glass over the outlet', means toperiodically actuat'e one implement at time intervals of predeterminedlength to etl'ect a periodic variation in the rate of discharge ofglass, and means to periodically actuate the other implement at timeintervals of a ditl'erent length from said first-mentioned time intel'-vals.

t). The combination of a container for molten glass havingr a bottomoutlet', a plunger projecting into the glass over the outlet, means forperiodically reciprocating the plunger toward and from the outlet, atube surrounding the plunger and projecting into the glass in positionto restrict the flow of glass to the outlet, and means for periodicallyreciprocating the tube toward and from the outlet in synchronism withthe reciprocations of the plunger, the time intervals between successlvereciprocations of the plunger being different from the time intervalsbetween successive reciprocations of the tube, and means operatingautomatically to periodically vary the position of the tube prior to andduring predetermined glass discharging movements of the plunger.

l0. The combination of a container for molten glass having a bottomoutlet, a plunger projecting into the glass over the outlet, means 'forperiodically reciprocating the plunger toward and from the outlet, arotary tube surrounding the plunger and projecting into the glass inposition to restrict the flow of glass to the outlet, means forperiodically reciprocating the tube toward and from the outlet insynchronism with the reciprocations of the plunger, the time intervalsbetween' successive reciprocations of the plunger being different fromthe time intervals between successive reciprocations of the' tube, meansoperating automatically to periodically vary the position of the tubeprior to and during predetermined glass discharging movements of theplunger, and manual adjusting means for varying the speed of rotation ofthe tube.

11. Thecombination of a glass forming machine comprising a rotating moldcarriage, molds thereon brought successively to charging position kbythe rotation of the carriage, means including a flow regulating plungerand tube surrounding the plunger, operating in synehronism with themovements of the carriage causing delivery of charges of glass tothe'molds, and means controlled by the movements of the carriage toperiodically vary the elevation of the tube surrounding the plunger andthereby vary the volume of successive charges of glass.

12. The combination of a glass forming machine comprising a rotatingmold carriage, molds thereon brought successivel to a charge receivingposition, glass feedling mechanism comprising a container having llt)CII

an outlet through which glass is discharged, a plunger, means forreoiprooating the plunger in synolilonism With the movements of the moldcarriage to control the discharge, o tube surrounding the plunger andmechanism controlled by the Inoveinons of the mold carriage forperiodically changing the elevation of the tuloe and thereby varying therato of discharge.

Signed at Toledo, in the county of Lucas 1d and Stale of 0hio, this 9th.day of April, 1926.

LlENARD D. SOUBER.

